Key Insights:
- Tokenized stocks accounted for $689.1 million in market capitalization as of December 2025, capturing just 3.7% of the $18.7 billion RWA market, according to rwa.xyz.
- DTCC partnered with Canton Network on December 17 to mint DTC-custodied US Treasuries and eventually equities, targeting an MVP in the first half of 2026.
- Securitize launched native on-chain stock trading in Q1 2026, positioning issuer-led tokenization against DTCC’s infrastructure-first approach in a race to control future equity rails.
Two competing visions for tokenized stocks gained traction in December 2025, setting up a long-term battle over who controls the rails for on-chain equity trading.
DTCC partnered with Canton Network on December 17 to tokenize DTC-custodied assets, starting with US Treasuries. The infrastructure-first approach targeted an MVP in the first half of 2026.
Meanwhile, Securitize announced a native on-chain stock trading that will debut in the next quarter, with blockchain serving as the authoritative cap table.
The parallel moves came as tokenized stocks sat at $689.1 million, representing just 3.7% of the $18.7 billion real-world assets (RWA) market. Both initiatives have the capacity to push this market past $1 billion.
DTCC’s strategy maintained existing custody relationships while adding tokenization. Frank La Salla, CEO of DTCC, said:
“DTCC’s partnership with Digital Asset and the Canton Network is a strategic step forward as we build digital infrastructure that seamlessly bridges traditional and digital financial ecosystems.”
Securitize took a different path. The company said that “these are real, regulated shares: issued on-chain, recorded directly on the issuer’s cap table.” The model required issuers to opt into blockchain-native equity rather than tokenizing existing DTC holdings.
Two Different Approaches to Tokenized Stocks
DTCC’s strategy focused on infrastructure-layer tokenization. The SEC no-action letter permitted a three-year pilot in which DTC tokenized custodied assets on pre-approved blockchains, with a rollout expected in the second half of 2026.
Canton implemented that framework using a permissioned network for privacy and institutional compliance. The customer base remained broker-dealers, custodians, and asset managers who already used DTC custody.
Brian Steele, Managing Director at DTCC, said the effort was built upon prior collateral mobility experiments as “part of the firm’s broader strategy to advance a secure, transparent, and interoperable digital asset ecosystem.”
DTCC leveraged its ComposerX suite, with plans to expand from Treasuries to Russell 1000 stocks and major index ETFs.
Securitize pursued issuer-led tokenization. The company unveiled a native on-chain stock trading for the next quarter, where blockchain served as the authoritative cap table rather than a secondary representation of DTC holdings.
As a SEC-registered transfer agent, Securitize made the token itself the legally recognized share, with investors appearing directly on issuers’ cap tables with full shareholder rights.
Exodus Movement proved the model in December 2024, becoming the first NYSE-listed company to issue equity natively on-chain.
Securitize’s platform offered 24/7 trading via its broker-dealer and ATS, using NBBO-aligned pricing during market hours and AMM-style pricing after hours.
Tokenized Stocks Market Could See Competing Standards
In the near term, DTCC and Securitize barely compete. They targeted different customers, chains, and assets.
DTCC’s pilot starts with Treasuries on Canton and serves institutional participants. Securitize begins with selected stocks on EVM chains, targeting issuers willing to go blockchain-native. The approaches are orthogonal.
Yuval Rooz, CEO of Digital Asset, framed DTCC’s move as reflecting “the collective ambition of leading market participants to create future-proof, interoperable financial ecosystems.”
DTCC also joined the Canton Foundation as a co-chair alongside Euroclear, positioning itself to set industry standards.
Securitize pitched a different value proposition. Rather than tokenizing existing DTC holdings, issuers could treat public chains as the record of truth.
The long-term picture revealed potential competition, as DTCC’s framework anticipated tokenizing Russell 1000 stocks and ETFs as DTC-custodied assets. If that became the default, there would be less space for issuer-led native tokenization.
Conversely, if Securitize convinced enough issuers to run cap tables directly on-chain, that would blunt the need for DTC-minted entitlements to cover equity volume.
The competition centered on which vision dominated: CSD-controlled entitlements on permissioned rails versus issuer-level native shares on public infrastructure.
Both models offer efficiencies. Tokenized stocks could streamline processes, reduce operational risk, and enhance capital efficiency across market participants.
RWA Market Expansion Hinges on Infrastructure Choices
Both initiatives addressed real problems in equity markets. Settlement takes at least a day, investors rarely hold shares in their own names, and multiple intermediaries sit between investors and issuers.
Previous “tokenized stocks” mostly offered exposure rather than ownership, according to Securitize, with many relying on derivatives or SPVs.
The rwa.xyz tracker showed four different “tokenized” Tesla versions as of December 2025, none representing actual shares or fungible with each other.
DTCC’s solution maintained existing custody relationships while adding tokenization capabilities. Brian Steele called it part of a “broader strategy to advance a secure, transparent and interoperable digital asset ecosystem.”
Securitize’s model requires issuer participation, limiting the initial stock universe but enabling direct investor ownership. The company positioned its platform as solving the exposure-versus-ownership problem that plagued earlier tokenization attempts.
The strategic overlap centered on which vision dominated over five to ten years: CSD-controlled entitlements on permissioned rails versus issuer-level native shares on public infrastructure.
Market participants could use both systems. DTCC’s tokenized Treasuries could serve as institutional collateral, while Securitize’s platform could handle 24/7 native trading.
In that scenario, DTCC functions as wholesale infrastructure while Securitize operates as a specialized retail layer.
For now, both initiatives converge to push the tokenized stocks sector to over $1 billion.